Vin Diesel ‘Categorically Denies’ Former Assistant’s ‘Outlandish’ Sexual Battery Allegation, Says Lawyer /d

The ‘Fast & Furious’ star’s former assistant filed a lawsuit against him and his production company over an alleged 2010 sexual assault

Jack Smart is the Movies Staff Writer at PEOPLE. With 10 years of experience as an entertainment journalist, he previously worked at The A.V. Club and Backstage.

Vin Diesel in 2020. PHOTO: PHILLIP FARAONE/FILMMAGIC

Vin Diesel is denying claims made by his former assistant in a lawsuit against him alleging sexual battery.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles this week and obtained by PEOPLE, alleges that in 2010 at Atlanta’s St. Regis hotel the Fast & Furious actor-producer assaulted plaintiff Asta Jonasson, groping her and masturbating while pinning her down.

Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Diesel, now 56, said in a statement to PEOPLE, “Let me be very clear: Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety.”

“This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly nine-day employee. There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations,” Freedman added.

The lawsuit — a complaint for damages against Diesel, his sister Samantha Vincent and their production company One Race Films — claims sexual battery, discrimination on the basis of sex/gender, intentional infliction of emotional distress, hostile work environment, wrongful termination and retaliation.

The suit alleges that hours after the incident in Diesel’s hotel suite, throughout which the plaintiff “continually pleaded with him to stop,” Vincent terminated Jonasson’s employment with the production company. It also details another inappropriate incident in Atlanta allegedly involving a One Race supervisor summoning Jonasson to his hotel room and inviting her into bed.

Vin Diesel.

Following her employment of less than two weeks with One Race, Jonasson’s “esteem was demolished, and she questioned her own skills and whether a successful career would require her to trade her body for advancement,” according to the lawsuit. “Ms. Jonasson felt like she was a piece of trash to be discarded.”

Reps for Diesel and One Race Films did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment Thursday.

Jonasson, who signed a nondisclosure agreement at the time, was able to file the claims due to the Speak Out Act, which prevents the enforcement of nondisclosure agreements in sexual assault and harassment cases. California’s AB2777 also temporarily waives statutes of limitations for sexual abuse allegations that occurred in 2009 or later.

“Empowered by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements,” reads the lawsuit, “Jonasson is unwilling to remain silent any longer and seeks to reclaim her agency and justice for the suffering she endured at the hands of Vin Diesel and One Race.”